Original researchThe relationship between maximum heart rate in a cardiorespiratory fitness test and in a maximum heart rate test
Introduction
Heart rate (HR) is often used to set exercise intensity in endurance training, both during traditional endurance exercise and even more so during high intensity interval training (HIT). Commonly, the intensity during HIT is set at 85–95% of HRmax,1 and the percentage of HRmax reached during HIT is important for improving cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).2 For HR to be a valid measure of exercise intensity, we need to know the HRmax of the individual. In clinical practice, HR is often reported as a percentage of age-predicted HRmax. The traditional formula for age-predicted HRmax is 220 − age,3 although later studies suggest that HRmax declines by around 0.7 beats/min (bpm) per year.4, 5 Such formulas, although perhaps correct in finding an average HRmax for a large group of people, will not predict an individual’s HRmax correctly due to the large inter-individual variability in HRmax.4 Due to this large individual variation, we often use the highest HR obtained on a standard, incremental CRF test and add five beats to estimate an individual’s HRmax. This calculation is, to our knowledge, based on a single study in young, well-trained athletes,6 and we are unaware of studies assessing how well the highest HR reached in a CRF test estimates HRmax in non-athletes. Although established that HRmax decreases with age,5, 7, 8 the effect of sex and CRF on HRmax is still controversial. Some studies have indicated no difference in HRmax between sexes,4, 5, 8 one study found higher HRmax in females compared to males,9 and yet another demonstrated the opposite.10 Furthermore, physically active individuals were found to have lower HRmax compared to sedentary individuals in some investigations,9, 10, 11 while others observed no association between physical activity level and HRmax.4, 8, 12 Our aim was to assess whether individuals reached HRmax in an incremental CRF test to exhaustion. We also investigated whether age, sex or CRF would affect the relationship between the highest HRs in these two tests, as well as whether HRmax differed between males and females and between those with high versus low CRF.
Section snippets
Methods
The study was carried out at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The Regional Ethical Committee for Health Research (REK-midt) concluded that there was no need for approval as the study implied no prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness. The study was reported to the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD). All participants were informed about the study and signed a written informed consent prior to participation. They were free to withdraw from the study at any
Results
We included 107 participants. Table 1 shows descriptive statistics for the participants and results from the two exercise tests. The HRmax was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5, 2.9) bpm higher than HRcrf (p < 0.001). When including only those who reached VO2max (n = 96) in the analysis, HRmax was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4, 2.9) bpm higher than HRcrf (p < 0.001). 30.2% of the participants were classified as having low CRF, i.e. with a VO2max lower than the average for their age and sex.15
HRcrf was the only variable that
Discussion
Our main finding was that HRmax was on average two beats per minute higher than the highest HR reached in a CRF test in males and females aged 20–70 years. The highest HR reached during the CRF test explained ∼90% of the HRmax and we observed no evidence for an effect of age, sex or CRF, or whether the participants fulfilled the criteria for VO2max on this relationship. We observed lower HRmax in individuals who had VO2max/peak higher than the average for their age and sex, compared to
Conclusion
The common practice of adding five bpm to the highest HR achieved during a CRF test may be excessive in non-athletes, and for this particular group a standard cardiorespiratory fitness test can give a good estimate of maximum heart rate.
Practical implications
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Non-athletes completed two different exercise test; one standard cardiorespiratory fitness test and one test designed to make the participants reach their heart rate maximum.
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On average, the participants’ highest heart rate was 2 beats per minute higher in the heart rate maximum test.
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Standard cardiorespiratory fitness testing can therefore give a good estimate of heart rate maximum in non-athletes.
Acknowledgments
The equipment and lab facilities for the exercise testing were provided by NeXt Move, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). NeXt Move is funded by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU and the Central Norway Regional Health Authority. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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